The present invention relates to a motorcycle safety system and, more particularly, to a motorcycle brake disc lock reminder and safety system.
The popularity and sales of motorcycles, as well as their cost, have grown and along with this growth has been a parallel increase in motorcycle theft. According to a survey of insurance companies by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, motorcycle-theft claims in the U.S. rose 46 percent in the period 1992-95 alone. As a result there has been an increased utilization of anti-theft devices such as alarms and locks. One such lock device that is very popular and highly recommended is the brake disc lock.
A motorcycle""s brake rotor (also known as a brake disc) is relatively thin and easily passes between the brake""s calipers, which engage the disc when the brakes are applied, in order to slow and stop the motorcycle. The brake disc lock is a small but sophisticated device which fastens onto the brake rotor disc and which is of sufficient thickness such that it cannot pass between the brake calipers or the wheel fork. As a result the wheel can only rotate a short distance in either direction before it is abruptly stopped.
One serious problem with this type of lock, though, is that it can be extremely dangerous to the rider and damaging to the motorcycle, if the operator were to inadvertently start the motorcycle and try to drive off, without first removing the lock from the brake rotor. If the operator starts to drive off with lock still fastened to the rotor, the motorcycle would move properly for a few feet until the lock engages with the brake calipers or fork. At that point, the wheel""s rotation would come to an immediate and sudden stop. The rapid engagement of the lock with the brake calipers could damage the brake calipers and/or the rotor. More importantly, such a sudden stop would likely result in the rider being thrown over the motorcycle""s handlebars, thus injuring the rider.
As this is a common problem, in order to prevent this from happening, a variety of approaches have been tried to remind the operator to detach the lock before starting the motorcycle. For example, the lock can be painted a bright color so that the operator will notice it on approaching the vehicle and will remember to detach it. Other approaches rely on reminders such as plastic xe2x80x9ckeyxe2x80x9d that can be inserted into the ignition lock to serve as a reminder to the operator to detach the lock before starting the vehicle""s engine. Approaches like these however have the limitation that they require the user to actively employ or set the reminder in order for them to be effective. Another approach is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,025 to Phifer which employs a xe2x80x9clock-outxe2x80x9d mechanism. In order to attach the lock to the brake rotor, the lock out device must first be removed from the lock. This requires the insertion of the ignition key into the lock out mechanism. This then prevents the motorcycle from being operated when the lock is in place because the lock-out mechanism retains the ignition key. This approach, which involves a mechanical device, is awkward, complicated to use and inconvenient.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a motorcycle disc brake lock reminder and safety system devoid of the above limitations.
According to the present invention there is provided a safety system for reminding an operator of a motorcycle to remove a lock from a disc rotor of a brake of the motorcycle and for reminding the operator to replace the lock in a storage location on the motorcycle, the motorcycle requiring function of an electrical circuit for starting the motorcycle, the system including: (a) a sensing mechanism for sensing that the lock is present in the storage location, the sensing mechanism operatively connected to, (b) a switching mechanism operatively connected to the electrical circuit of the motorcycle for controlling current flow through the electrical circuit, whereby the motorcycle is prevented from starting unless the lock is present in the storage location.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the system further includes a resistance mechanism, the resistance mechanism being connected in a parallel circuit with the switching mechanism, wherein the resistance mechanism is of sufficient resistance such that the resistance mechanism draws sufficient current such that the required electrical circuit will function only if said switching mechanism allows current flow through said switching mechanism.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the resistance device further includes a mechanism for delivering an alert.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the switching mechanism includes a microswitch.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the sensing mechanism further includes a storage bracket, whereby placement of the lock in the storage bracket serves to operatively engage the microswitch so as to permit current flow through the switching mechanism.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the system further includes an identifier mechanism attached to the lock for causing the lock to be detectable by the sensing mechanism.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the identifier mechanism is a magnet, and the sensing mechanism senses the presence of a magnet.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the identifier mechanism includes a mechanism for uniquely distinguishing the lock from any other lock, and the sensing mechanism includes a recognition mechanism for specifically detecting the unique distinguishing mechanism.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the unique distinguishing mechanism is selected from the group consisting of a machine readable bar code, a uniquely identifiable magnetic strip, an electronic chip, a radio transmitter, an infrared transmitter, and an ultrasound transmitter.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments, the system further includes a bypass switch, connected to the switching mechanism, for bypassing the switching mechanism.
The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a motorcycle disc brake lock reminder and safety system that can be used to prevent injury to the motorcycle driver and damage to the motorcycle, by preventing operation of the motorcycle unless the disc brake lock is properly stored. Further, in those embodiments where a unique distinguishing mechanism is used, the system of the present invention also functions as an anti-theft, theft deterrent system.